Body Switching, Mind Swapping
by wolf with panther eyes
Summary: Ever wanted to see two certain cats from warriors switch bodies? Now you can! Second story up now. Which two cats will be switched this time?
1. Rules

Some people may know that I LOVE body-switch stories (see my profile). Anyway, while writing my SquirrelxBramble body-switch story, the idea for tons of other switches came into my head.

So here's your chance to choose which two cats will be switched for a day!

They'll spend the day as each other, and each chapter will count as a seperate story. Switches can be sprend over any timeline, excluding Dark River as I haven't read it yet.

However, the cats can only be switched IF THEY WERE ALIVE AT THE SAME TIME!!! Therefore, there's no Lionheart switching with Tigerstar - it would have to be _Tigerclaw _who switched with Lionheart, as he didn't become Tigerstar until later in the series, after Lionheart had died. And no cats who are in StarClan at the time can be switched.

Get the idea?

So, all you have to do is choose any two cats, from any Clans, and I will write a short story where they switch bodies for a day.

**Form**

**First Cat:**

**Second Cat:**

**Timeline (book and point of time in book):**

So, for example

**First Cat: **Fireheart

**Second Cat:** Sandstorm

**Timeline: **Rising Storm, just after Bluestar got turned away from Moonstone.

To get you started, here's some ideas I came up with.

Crowfeather and Leafpool

Jaypaw and Willowpaw

Whitewing and Squirrelflight

Silverstream and Mistyfoot

Fireheart ad Tigerstar

Have fun!


	2. Whitewing and Squirrelflight

This was requested twice by **She Who Sulks in Shadows** and **Silent as a Bomb**. This wasn't the first switch requested, but...

**Stonetail's Loyalty **- I love your idea! I just need you to tell me if the switch happens after the trap, or before it.

**Ambereyes - Jaypaw Fangirl** - Nice idea, but I can't do it as Spottedleaf is in StarClan at that time.

**Nightkit **- Oooh, can't _wait_ to write this! grins

**Frost-Dreamleaf** - I like both. I'll do the Stormfur and Brambleclaw one first, though.

**Hollowfang rocks warriors 2 **- Thta sounds really intriging... I'm definatly doing that.

**Runningfern** - I'm so glad you're writing one! Yay!

Now, both** Soralover** and **Troublestripe** have requested a TigerxFire switch... one with Tigerclaw, one with Tigerstar. I don't know which one to do yet. I'm not going to do both, so **Soralover**, if you could tell me when the timeline for yours is and I'll decide which of yours to do.

Anyway, here's the first one. Hope you like it!

* * *

Whitewing slowly padded across the clearing, trying not to even glance at the ginger tabby who made her snowy fur crawl.

Squirrelflight

Whitewing was older than Squirrelflight by several moons, and yet she'd only just received her warrior name a few sunrises ago. Squirrelflight, on the other paw, had become a warrior many moons before, and already had several toms fawning over her. Whitewing had no-one.

Lowering her head, Whitewing entered the warriors' den. A few other cats lay scattered about - some sleeping, some sharing tongues. A bundle of light gray fur caught her eye, and she felt once more the familiar tug as she recognised Ashfur, one of Squirrelflight's ex-mates and Whitewing's current crush.

The white she-cat paused for a second, then found her mossy nest at the edge of the den. She pushed it into a more comfortable shape before settling in, her fur bristled out to stop the cold chill getting to her. Lucky Squirrelflight got to sleep in the middle, where it was green-leaf warm. And all because she was Firestar's daughter, and the ThunderClan deputy was her mate.

Whitewing sighed, pushing all thoughts of Squirrelflight to the back of her mind. Resting her head on her paws, she closed her light green eyes and let sleep carry her away.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Whitewing blearily opened her eyes, yawning. Pale light filtered into the den, looking like twilight rather than dawn. The snowy she-cat felt considerably warmer than she'd done since the cold weather had began - and there was a pelt brushing against hers, adding extra warmth. Whitewing caught sight of brown tabby fur and for a heartbeat thought it was Birchpaw, who had sometimes curled up to her at night. But looking again, she realised with shock that it wasn't Birchpaw - the fur was much darker, and the tabby stripes showed up more.

Whitewing was lying beside Brambleclaw, the ThunderClan deputy.

Wondering why she was lying next to Brambleclaw, and still slightly stunned, Whitewing slowly began to shift away. But, as she did, Brambleclaw opened his amber eyes and gazed at her, giving the confused Whitewing a lick on her forehead.

"Morning," he whispered, giving a small yawn.

"Er… good morning to you, too," Whitewing replied, surprised. Wasn't Brambleclaw surprised that he'd woken next to her, and not Squirrelflight?

Whitewing glanced around at the rest of the den. Where was Squirrelflight, anyway? She couldn't spot the ginger pelt amongst the others. Turning her head to look at her usual sleeping area, she felt her insides do a backflip.

There was a snowy white pelt curled up near the edge of the den… a snowy white pelt that Whitewing knew very well.

Whitewing glanced at her paws. One was white, just like her fur - but the other was a fiery ginger, and the fur on both was short and slightly bristly. Flexing her paws, Whitewing watched as sharp claws unsheathed themselves - claws that were different from her own.

Whitewing twisted slightly and stared at her flank. The same fiery orange fur covered it completely, with slightly darker tabby markings.

Slowly, Whitewing turned back to her paws. _Holy StarClan! _she thought to herself. _I__'__m Squirrelflight!_

"What's the matter?" a voice said beside her, and she turned to see Brambleclaw staring at her with slight anxiety in his eyes.

"Nothing," Whitewing said quickly, getting to her paws. "I'm just… just hungry. I think I should go eat."

"I'll come with you," Brambleclaw purred, getting to his paws.

"No!" Whitewing meowed more loudly than she'd intended. "I'll - I'll be fine by myself."

Brambleclaw nodded, but he didn't take his eyes off of her as Whitewing padded out of the den, feeling extremely uncomfortable. As soon as she was sure he couldn't see her, she broke into a run.

"Going hunting," she remarked to Spiderleg, who was guarding the camp. She raced off, letting the chill wind brush past her face and thinking about what had happened that morning._Okay, I__'__m Squirrelflight. At least, I__'__m in her body, _she told herself. _So, maybe Squirrelflight is me? _She shuddered at the thought, stopping as reached the ShadowClan border. She began to walk alongside it, wondering what she deserved to be stuck in the body of a cat she despised.

Maybe she could have some fun with it.

Whitewing swirled around and went back to camp the way she came. Before she decided anything, she needed to talk to Squirrelflight - or whoever was in her body.

As Whitewing approached the camp entrance, she spotted a white blur and thought at first that it was Cloudtail. But as the white blur ran over to her, Whitewing realised that she was actually looking at herself. It gave her a weird feeling, and her fur instinctively stood on end. "Squirrelflight?" she mewed hesitantly.

Her body stopped. "Whitewing?"

There was a pause, then at the same time they both meowed "Why am I you? Why are you me?!"

"I have no idea," Whitewing said quickly. "I had nothing to do with it."

Squirrelflight-in-Whitewing's-body stared at her like she was stupid. "Why in StarClan's name would I think that?"

Whitewing shrugged. "No idea."

Squirrelflight padded forward slightly. "Is that really you, Whitewing?" she meowed in a hushed voice.

Whitewing flicked Squirrelflight's tail. "Who else would it be?"

"Wow… this is weird."

"Sure is."

They both stared at each other for what seemed like a long time.

"Whitewing!" a light brown tabby bounded over to them.

"Hi Birchpaw," Whitewing said, and then regretted it as Birchpaw glanced at her in surprise.

"Hi Squirrelflight," the eldest apprentice mewed, looking confused. He turned back to who he thought was Whitewing. The real Whitewing listened to what he was saying, trying to look uninterested.

"What happened to you?" he was saying. "You just gave a yowl and took off!"

Whitewing congratulated herself on the fact that she hadn't freaked out like that.

"Er…" Squirrelflight glanced at Whitewing for help. "I… I had a nightmare?"

"What kind of nightmare?" Birchpaw asked, his amber eyes full of concern.

"It was a nightmare about when the badgers came." Squirrelflight's voice dropped to a whisper and she turned away, acting ashamed. _You can__'__t deny that she__'__s a great liar, _Whitewing thought to herself, smiling at the thought. Unlike herself.

Birchpaw touched Squirrelflight's shoulder with his tail. "I think everyone in the Clan still does," he reassured her. "Come on, maybe we could go back and eat."

Whitewing waited for Squirrelflight to refuse, but instead the former-ginger she-cat gave a small smile and mewed "That sounds good."

As the two cats began to pad away, Squirrelflight turned her head and winked at Whitewing, who felt her eyes widen even more. _What is she playing at?_

Silently growling in frustration, the former-white she-cat followed them into the camp.

"Hey, Squirrelflight," Whitewing heard Leafpool call to her.

"Hi, Leafpool," Whitewing answered, strolling over to her and sitting down. She wrapped her tail around her forepaws. It felt weird - her usual tail was quite feathery. "How's life in the medicine cat's den?"

Leafpool shrugged. "It's going well at the moment. No cats have needed me for a while."

Whitewing nodded, then mewed "Leafpool… have you received any messages from StarClan recently?"

Leafpool looked slightly surprised. "You don't often ask me that, Squirrelflight."

"Oh." Whitewing cast around for something else to say, but then Leafpool leaned forward slightly.

"How are you so far?" she murmured, out of earshot from the other cats.

Whitewing stared at her. "What do you mean?"

Leafpool sighed. "You know. I confirmed it yesterday, and you told me to keep it secret."

"Keep what secret?" Whitewing meowed, bewildered.

Leafpool stared at her. "The fact that you're having kits."

Whitewing didn't move for a few seconds. Then she leaned forward and whispered "_What?__"_

Leafpool rearranged some herbs. "I still think it would be best to tell the Clan," she meowed, not noticing the stunned look on her 'sister's' face. "I know you want to stay a warrior for a bit longer, but it's not fair to your unborn kits."

"My unborn kits," Whitewing repeated slowly._Squirrelflight was having kits? _

Leafpool faced Whitewing again. "So, what are you going to do?"

Whitewing hesitated, then mewed "I think I'll announce it to the Clan."

Leafpool's amber eyes gleamed happily. "That's great!" she meowed, rasping her tongue over 'Squirrelflight's' ear.

Whitewing nodded and stood up, swishing her tail. "I'll go see Firestar now."

"Good luck," Leafpool added as Whitewing padded over to the Highledge. The former-white she-cat paused, then bounded up the rock wall and paused outside Firestar's den.

"Firestar?" Whitewing called out. Almost immediately, the flame-coloured tom emerged from his den. Sandstorm was beside him; their pelts were pressed together in affection.

"What is it, Squirrelflight?" Firestar asked. "Is something wrong?"

Whitewing suddenly felt nervous. She may have fooled Brambleclaw, Birchfall and Leafpool, but this was Squirrel flight's parents.

Then again, Brambleclaw was Squirrelflight's mate, and Leafpool was her sister…

With a newfound confidence, Whitewing met Firestar's eyes and mewed "I was just with Leafpool." She paused for impact, then blurted out "I'm having kits!"

Both Firestar and Sandstorm's eyes widened.

"Congratulations!" Sandstorm mewed happily, giving who she thought was her daughter a lick on the cheek.

Firestar smiled. "I'm proud of you," he said with a touch of pride. "Is Brambleclaw the father?"

Whitewing hesitated, then replied "Yes, he is."

As Firestar leaned over to congratulate her, Whitewing noticed an odd expression flicker across the leader's face. He seemed… almost scared. The look vanished as soon as it had come.

"You should move to the nursery soon," Sandstorm advised, touching Whitewing's ginger flank with her tail.

"I'm planning to move in tonight," Whitewing responded, then blinked. Had she really said that?

Sandstorm purred happily.

"I better go tell Brambleclaw now," Whitewing mewed, dipping her head to her 'parents'.

"And then, maybe you should go and claim a place in the nursery," Firestar suggested. "I'll get one of the apprentices to fetch some moss for you."

"Thank you, Firestar," Whitewing blinked warmly. She turned and padded down to the camp clearing, where she met the accusing stare of - well, herself.

"What were you doing up there?" the real Squirrelflight hissed under her breath.

"I was telling Firestar and Sandstorm the good news," Whitewing replied, holding her head high as she walked past her body.

Squirrelflight blocked her way. "What good news?"

Whitewing beamed. "That you're having kits."

Squirrelflight froze. "Who told you that?"

"Leafpool mentioned it," Whitewing answered, still grinning. "I thought you'd like the clan to know."

Squirrelflight looked like she wanted to bash her head against a hard boulder.

"See you later." Whitewing padded over to where Brambleclaw was sitting, talking to his new apprentice Berrypaw.

"And so, you _cannot, _under any circumstances, hunt a squirrel like that… oh, hi Squirrelflight."

"Hi, Brambleclaw," Whitewing returned the greeting. "How's the training coming, Berrypaw?"

Berrypaw had a mutinous look in his blue eyes. "Brambleclaw thinks that I can't hunt a squirrel by -".

"Is that Firestar calling for you?" Brambleclaw interrupted. "Better go and see what he wants."

Berrypaw heaved himself to his paws, sighing. "Bye."

"Bye," Whitewing repeated, then turned her head to face Brambleclaw. "Guess what?"

Brambleclaw groaned, flicking his tail. "What?"

"Squirrelflight's… I'm having your kits!" Whitewing said for the second time that day.

Brambleclaw's eyes widened, just like Firestar and Sandstorm's had done. "Really?"

Whitewing nodded. "Leafpool just checked," she explained. "So I'm moving to the nursery tonight."

Brambleclaw blinked happily and stood up, pressing his tabby fur against hers and purring loudly. Behind Brambleclaw's back, Whitewing noticed Ashfur. The gray tom had frozen and was staring at them, shock and disappointment swimming in his blue stare.

"I love you," Brambleclaw whispered into Whitewing's ear.

Whitewing paused for a second, then meowed softly "I love you too." But the words weren't meant for Brambleclaw, they were for the gray-flecked warrior watching them.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Here," Berrypaw muttered, tossing a bundle of moss to the ground.

Whitewing glanced at the apprentice. "Thanks, Berrypaw."

The young tom dipped his head and left.

Whitewing stood up and gently eased the moss into a comfortable shape before dragging it closer to the centre of the nursery where Daisy and Sorreltail were sharing tongues. Sorreltail's kits kept giving little squeals as they played together, and Whitewing gave a small smile. What she wouldn't give to be having her own kits, fathered by the tom she loved…

Satisfied with her mossy nest, Whitewing walked out into the main camp and headed towards the fresh-kill pile. She hadn't been able to eat yet, and her stomach growled with hunger as she dragged a wood pigeon to the nursery entrance. She devoured it in quick bites, then began to groom Squirrelflight's fur. The unfamiliar pelt felt rough compared to her usual white, soft fur and she was silently disgusted by the fact that the pelt she was grooming actually belonged to someone else.

Finished, she gave her paw a last lick and looked up to find Squirrelflight staring at her.

"What now?" Whitewing mewed impatiently, twitching her tail. She was starting to feel drowsy and wanted to go to sleep in her new resting place.

Squirrelflight sat down beside her. "How long do you think we'll stay like this?" the once-ginger she-cat asked quietly.

Whitewing shrugged. "I have no idea."

Squirrelflight sighed, then went on in Whitewing's voice "It'll be different now, even if we do switch back. At least, for me."

"You'll be sleeping in the nursery," Whitewing agreed. "Not allowed to go out on patrols or hunting anymore."

"At least while I'm you, I don't have to worry about that," Squirrelflight meowed. "But - well, these are my first kits. I want to be the one to have them."

"I'm sure we'll have switched back before long," Whitewing mewed, feeling a pang of sympathy for her Clanmate. "Then you can appreciate all the joys of being a queen."

Squirrelfligth looked thoughtful. "Thanks, Whitewing," she responded. "You know, I'm glad I switched bodies with you and not some other cat."

"Imagine if you'd switched with Brambleclaw!" Whitewing said suddenly, grinning at the thought. "Oh, I'd love to see his face…"

"You mean my face," Squirrelflight added, smirking. "I'd be deputy, and _he__'__d_be the one sleeping in the nursery."

Whitewing and Squirrelflight's eyes met, and they both burst out laughing at the thought.

"Some deputy you'd be," Whitewing joked. "You'd probably send about half the Clan off to the mountains for no reason."

"Hey," Squirrelflight said suddenly. "What if you and Ashfur switched bodies?"

Whitewing's mouth went dry and her… or Squirrelflight's… eyes widened. "What?"

Squirrelflight shrugged. "Well, if it wouldn't be fair if it was only Brambleclaw and me switching. Besides, I've seen the way you look at him."

"You were?"

Squirrelflight nodded. "It's the same way I look at Brambleclaw."

Whitewing tilted her head to one side, trying to think of a way to change the subject. "What did you do today?"

"Well, while you stayed in camp, I went out hunting with Birchpaw," Squirrelflight told her. "It feels really weird, hunting in this body. Your fur gets everywhere."

Whitewing glanced at her body's paws. Sure enough, dirt had gathered in the long, white fur.

Squirrelflight stood up. "I might go to sleep now," she meowed, glancing at the sky. "It's getting dark."

Whitewing glanced up and saw that the sky had darkened to a deeper blue, and a few faint stars were already appearing. "And I should head to the nursery," the former-white she-cat agreed. "Night, Squirrelflight."

"Maybe, if we're lucky, we'll have switched back in the morning," Squirrelflight suggested.

Whitewing didn't really think that was possible. "Maybe."

Squirrelflight hesitated, then dipped her head and padded over to the warriors' den. Whitewing watched as her body slipped into the den before turning and entering the nursery.

Sorreltail glanced up as Whitewing made her way to her new bed. "Hey, Squirrelflight."

"Hi Sorreltail," Whitewing meowed, lying down on her nest of moss. "How's you kits?"

The tortoiseshell queen glanced at her belly, where her four kits suckled. "They're fine."

"I hope my kits are half as nice as yours," Whitewing complimented. She did mean it - Sorreltail's kits looked so cute.

Sorreltail smiled. "Thanks."

Whitewing yawned, resting her head on her paws. She missed the smooth feel of her long fur, but the nursery was warm anyway.

Curling her tail around herself, Whitewing slowly fell asleep.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Whitewing! Whitewing, wake up!"

Whitewing blinked open her eyes. "Huh?"

"It worked!" a ginger tabby meowed happily. "I'm back!" The cat twirled around happily.

"Squirrelflight?" Whitewing asked in amazement, then stopped. "Hello, hello," she mumbled to herself, listening hard to her voice. It wasn't Squirrelflight's anymore; it was Whitewing's own!

Whitewing glanced at her paws, suddenly wide awake. Squirrelflight's short, ginger fur had disappeared and Whitewing's paws were now covered in long, soft, slightly dirty fur.

"I'm back?" she meowed, hardly daring to believe it.

"We switched back," Squirrelflight confirmed, beaming. She flicked her tail gleefully. "It feels so good to be me again!"

Whitewing scrambled to her feet and glanced around her. She and Squirrelflight were alone in the warriors' den. "Where's everyone else?"

"Firestar called a clan meeting," Squirrelflight answered. "I managed to sneak in here without anyone noticing."

Whitewing gave her own tail an experimental flick and felt extremely happy when she caught sight of its white tip.

"So, you want to go to the meeting?" Squirrelflight asked, beginning to walk towards the den entrance. Without saying anything, Whitewing followed her, beaming as they ducked under the branches and padded out to join the clan.

"See you soon," Squirrelflight meowed, grinning. The ginger she-cat went to sit next to Brambleclaw; Whitewing noticed them exchange glances.

Whitewing looked at the cats nearest to her, and felt her stomach do a somersault as she realised Ashfur was looking at her.

"I saved you a place," he murmured, touching the space to his left with his tail.

Whitewing padded over to him and sat in the place he'd saved for her. "Thanks," she replied softly. As she turned to look up at Firestar, she glanced at Squirrelflight. The orange tabby gave her a quick wink before turning her head away.

_Maybe Squirrelflight's not so bad after all,_Whitewing thought, smiling to herself as her snowy-white tail gently brushed against Ashfur's gray-flecked tail.


	3. Cinderpaw and Fireheart

**Sorry it's been a while.**

**Anyway - thank you to everyone who's reviewed, and/or suggested a switch. But because I didn't intead for so many people to suggest ideas, I'm going to put the ideas on hold for a little while as I finish writing some more of these. **

**This was requested by ****Stonetail's Loyalty - the first review and idea I received. I hope you like it, even though it's shorter than my last story. **

* * *

"Me next! Me next!" 

Fireheart swirled around. The sudden yowling had scared away his prey.

"Cinderpaw," he growled under his breath, stalking towards where the shout had come from.

Cinderpaw glanced up at Fireheart as he stepped into the clearing. Her bright blue eyes shone with undisguised excitement and her tail twitched dizzily. "Fireheart!"

The ginger tom had been fully ready to scold her, but seeing his apprentice filled with such enthusiasm… He sighed, shaking his head. "What were you yowling about?"

"Brackenpaw caught a vole," Cinderpaw mewed, swaying to and fro. "I've never caught a vole."

Fireheart shook his head in disbelief. "Well, could you be quieter next time? I think you scared away all the prey from here to Fourtrees."

Cinderpaw's shoulders drooped and she rested her tail on the ground with a soft thud. "Sorry."

Fireheart licked her ear. "Just don't let it happen again, okay?" He turned to where Cinderpaw's brother and fellow apprentice, Brackenpaw, was standing. "Congratulations to you too," he added.

Brackenpaw dipped his head. "Thanks, Fireheart," the golden brown tabby meowed.

Fireheart nodded back and began to pad back to where he'd been hunting, flicking Cinderpaw's flank as he walked past. "I'll leave you to yourselves now."

Cinderpaw's eyes widened. "With no mentor to watch us?"

"There's got to be a first time," Fireheart replied, smiling as he remembered his first solo hunting trip. That had been the day he met Yellowfang…

"Just remember what I told you," Fireheart meowed. "And you'll be fine." The flame-coloured cat pushed through the ferns, leaving the two young cats in the clearing. He heard Cinderpaw as she called out.

"I'm going to catch a vole now!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The navy-blue sky was growing patchy as dawn tore its way over the forest. The whole of ThunderClan territory seemed to be holding its breath, Fireheart thought to himself as he padded through the dew-stained grass. Ahead of him, Runningwind and Mousefur matched each others' pace, while Cinderpaw bounced along beside Fireheart - pausing only to sniff at an old badger hole, or spring after a lazy dragonfly.

"What a nice morning," she mewed happily; suddenly her head swirled around. "Squirrel!"

Fireheart let out a barely audible groan as Cinderpaw sprang up the nearest tree in pursuit of the fluffy-tailed prey. "Cinderpaw!"

Cinderpaw stopped and glanced down at her mentor. "What?"

Fireheart felt the stares of Mousefur and Runningwind burn into his pelt. "You don't catch squirrels like that," he reminded Cinderpaw, his tail swishing in frustration.

His apprentice tilted her gray-furred head onto one side. "Don't you?"

Fireheart shook his head. "No."

After a moment's hesitation, Cinderpaw turned and started to climb down. "Okay then."

Fireheart gave his chest a few self-conscious licks, wishing that Runningwind and Mousefur hadn't watched the exchange between mentor and apprentice.

"Fireheart!"

Fireheart's head shot up just in time to see Cinderpaw slip off the branch and tumble towards the ground. Without thinking, he dashed under her and stood up on his hind legs for a second, hoping to catch the falling she-cat.

There was a loud thump as Cinderpaw landed on top of Fireheart; her weight pushing him to the ground.

"Cinderpaw, what were you thinking?" Fireheart growled softly, his eyes shut.

"Sorry!" He heard someone apologise in a slightly muffled voice, but it didn't sound like anyone he knew - yet it was oddly familiar…

Cinderpaw must have gotten off him; he could no longer feel her weight holding him down. But underneath him, the ground was warm and furry, and it was moving.

"Get off me!" The unusual voice said, and Fireheart jumped.

"Sorry," he meowed, quickly rolling off the cat he was sitting on. He gave his head a quick shake, getting his gray fur out of his eyes…

_Gray_fur?

In front of Fireheart, a flame-coloured cat was scrambling to his paws. "You were heavy," the cat complained, then stopped and stared at Fireheart. "What the…?"

Fireheart stared back at the other cat, as alike himself as his reflection in a pool. His eyes widened in shock as he realised what he was seeing.

Fireheart was looking at himself.

Slowly, Fireheart stood up and took a few steps forwards, tilting his head to one side as he tried to figure out what was going on.

His mirror image was examining himself, twirling round and round. "This is so weird!" He exclaimed in a tone Fireheart knew very well.

Fireheart froze in shock. "Cinderpaw?" he whispered under his breath.

"Are you two okay?" another voice said, and Fireheart turned around to see that Mousefur and Runningwind were still there. They seemed larger than usual, and both had worried expressions. "You took a nasty fall," Mopusefur meowed, flicking her tail.

"I'm fine," Fireheart's double image replied before Fireheart could. The cat narrowed his eyes at Fireheart. "You're fine too, aren't you, _Cinderpaw_?"

The last word had been stressed out, and suddenly Fireheart realised what had happened.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," he meowed. His voice had changed - it was higher, more energetic. To confirm his theory, Fireheart glanced at his paws and noticed that his flame-coloured fur was now more the colour of dark ash.

"Are you sure?" Mousefur persisted, glancing from one to the other.

"Umm.. I might need to go see Yellowfang," Firehart said before Cinderpaw could. He smiled, hoping that the sweet, innocent look Cinderpaw used so often would work.

"I'll take you," the real Cinderpaw meowed, padding over to stand beside him. "So that he…er, she - doesn't get into trouble."

Runningwind nodded. "We'll see you back at camp," he meowed, holding his tail high. "Come on, Mousefur."

Mousefur dipped her head briefly to her mixed-up Clanmates before following Runningwind through some tall bracken. After the two older cats had been gone for a while, Fireheart turned to his body.

"So you're Cinderpaw?" he asked slowly, his brain working more sluggishly than usual.

His body… Cinderpaw… nodded, widening her new green eyes and flicking her tail. "This is weird," she meowed, tilting her head to one side. "I mean, I'm you? You're me? Real weird, this is." She turned to look at the body she was in. "Really, really weird!" She glanced at Fireheart, grinning. "Maybe I can catch my tail as you. I never could when I was Cinderpaw."

With that, the once-gray cat began to chase Fireheart's ginger tail; twirling around and around.

"Stop it!" Fireheart meowed sharply. Cinderpaw stopped, turned to face him and did her cute trick. The expression on Fireheart's face was made him want to laugh, but he continued to look stern.

"Now, what was this caused by?" he wondered.

"Gee, I dunno… Oh, wait!" Fireheart's face brightened. "It was after I fell out of the tree - just after I landed on you." Cinderpaw leapt up, catching the branch of the tree she'd fallen out of and pulling herself onto it. "Let's see…" She climbed higher, at a speedier rate then she had done before.

"Cinderpaw!" Fireheart called out again. "How exactly will this -"

All the breath was knocked out of him as Cinderpaw jumped on top of him.

"Did it work?" she meowed anxiously, lifting her head.

"Ow…" Fireheart groaned. His eyes flickered to stare at his paws. They were still small and gray. "No, I'm still you."

Cinderpaw lashed her tail. "Fox-dung!" she exclaimed.

"Get off me, please," Fireheart meowed, pressed to the ground even harder than before.

Cinderpaw jumped off - apparently she hadn't been affected. _Yeah, because she had me to land on! _Fireheart thought bitterly.

"Maybe you should be the one who falls down," Cinderpaw suggested, her green eyes barely a mouse tail away from Fireheart's blue. "You know, because you're me."

Fireheart sat up, rubbing his neck with one of Cinderpaw's forelegs. "I don't think that'll work."

"Why not?" Cinderpaw demanded. "C'mon, Fireheart! Please?"

Fireheart groaned again as Cinderpaw did her cute expression once more. "Okay, fine. Which tree was it?"

"This one here," Cinderpaw meowed, rearing up on her hind legs and touching the tree with her forepaws. "I'll tell you when to stop climbing."

Sighing heavily, Fireheart padded over to the tree. He glanced up at the nearest branch. It seemed easy enough.

He crouched, and then leapt up, forepaws extended.

Unfortunately, he'd forgotten that Cinderpaw's body was smaller than his own and he missed the branch completely, his claws only just scraping the bark.

"Try again," Cinderpaw encouraged.

Fireheart got to his feet, gave a quick shake to flatten Cinderpaw's ruffled fur and leapt again. This time he managed to grab hold of the branch and pull himself up onto it.

"Good!" Cinderpaw meowed, smiling happily. "Now for the next branch…"

As Fireheart followed Cinderpaw's instructions, he couldn't help feeling like this was going to be a failure. They'd probably stay in each others' bodies for a lot longer…

"Now!"

Cinderpaw's sudden yowl made Fireheart jump, his fur bristling… of course, the branch was too fragile for even that movement.

_Crack!_

Fireheart felt the branch collapse under his paws, and suddenly he was falling - claws digging heavily into the wood he'd dragged down. He let out a yowl.

And then he landed on something soft.

"Oh, my head…" Fireheart heard Cinderpaw mew in a small voice. And the voice… it was one he knew very well.

"Cinderpaw!" Fireheart meowed, his voice muffled as Cinderpaw lay on top of him. "It worked!" He managed to slither out from under her and glanced at his paws. They were a flaming ginger again. "Yes!"

Cinderpaw slowly lifted her head, her usual blue eyes widening. "It worked?" She sat up and began to groom herself, wincing. "I think I've got a splinter in my paw."

Fireheart padded over to her and nosed the paw she held up for him. Sure enough, a sharp piece of wood protruded from her pad.

"I'll have that out in a second," Fireheart promised, then slowly took hold of it in his teeth and pulled.

Cinderpaw gave a small squeal as the splinter came out. "That hurt!"

Fireheart tilted his head onto one side. "Shall we go and see Yellowfang about it?"

Cinderpaw gave her paw a few licks, then stood up. "Yep."

"And, ah… let's not tell anyone about what happened," Fireheart added, touching his apprentice's flank with his tail. The ginger showed up brightly against her dark gray fur.

Cinderpaw widened her eyes and grinned. "You can count on me, Fireheart," she promised before leaping off towards the camp.

Fireheart gave a small sigh and followed her.


End file.
